1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wave stringer to attenuate energy that propagates through a hard disk drive.
2. Background Information
Hard disk drives contain a plurality of magnetic heads that are coupled to rotating disks. The heads write and read information by magnetizing and sensing the magnetic fields of the disk surfaces. There have been developed magnetic heads that have a write element for magnetizing the disks and a separate read element for sensing the magnetic fields of the disks. The read element is typically constructed from a magneto-resistive material. The magneto-resistive material has a resistance that varies with the magnetic fields of the disk. Heads with magneto-resistive read elements are commonly referred to as magneto-resistive (MR) heads.
Each head is attached to a suspension arm to create a subassembly commonly referred to as a head gimbal assembly (“HGA”). The HGA's are attached to an actuator arm which has a voice coil motor that can move the heads across the surfaces of the disks.
The disks are rotated by a spindle motor that is mounted to a base plate of the disk drive. The spindle motor may create a vibration that is transmitted through the base plate. The vibration may be in the audible frequency range so that the drive emits an undesirable noise. Additionally, the rotating disks may create a turbulent flow that generates a vibration in the housing which also creates an audible noise from the drive. It would be desirable to provide a structure that attenuates acoustic energy which propagates through the disk drive housing, and lowers the noise emitted from the drive.
Disk drives are sometimes subjected to external shock and/or vibration loads that may damage the internal components of the drive. It would also be desirable to provide a structure that attenuates shook/vibration waves which propagate through the housing of the drive.